US Dollar Exchange Rates of 25th January 2013
China Yuan 6.223
Report from China
Solid 2012 real estate sales reported
Total investment in Chinese residential real estate in 2012 was RMB
7,180.4 billion a year-on-year growth of 14.9 percent according to a
press release from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. The full
press release can be seen at:
http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/pressrelease/t20130118_402867355.htm
The total investment in residential buildings was RMB 4,937.4 billion,
up by 11.4 percent accounting for 68.8 percent of all real estate
development investment.
¡¡
In 2012, investment in real estate in the eastern region of China stood at
RMB 4,054.1 billion, up 13.9 percent year-on-year.
Investment in the central region stood at RMB 1,576.3 billion, up by
18.3 percent while in the western region investment was recorded as RMB
1,550.0 billion, a 20.4
percent increase year on year.
Sales of commercial buildings
Sales of commercial buildings also increased in 2012. The total floor
area of office building sold in 2012 increased 12.4 percent but there
was a 1.4 percent drop in the area of buildings for other commercial
uses.
The overall sales of commercial buildings in 2012 amounted to RMB
6,445.6 billion.
¡¡
Debt servicing weighs on company finances
Chinese companies have borrowed so heavily in recent years that they now
face huge problems in servicing these debts.
In the latest financial statements, the cumulative debt levels of
publicly traded companies stand at around US$1.5 trillion, up from
around US$60 billion in 2007.
Debt levels last year, as a percentage of GDP, were the highest ever
recorded. This means more and more of the financial resources of
enterprises have to be channelled into debt servicing.
A Bank of China report indicates that Chinese banks provided around
US$1.0 trillion in new loans in 2012, 10 percent higher than in 2011 and
the second-highest level on record.
Towards an economy driven by domestic consumption
The Chinese economy grew by 7.8 percent in 2012, the slowest rate of
growth for the past decade when annual double digit growth was the norm.
The Chinese government has adopted policies aimed at creating a shift to
a consumer-driven economy and away from one dependent on exports. The
current challenge facing the government is how to support economic
recovery without, once again, triggering inflation and unmanageable debt
levels.
Analysts suggest that the Chinese economy is being steered towards
slower growth to better reflect the declining working-age population and
the declining availability of low cost raw materials upon which many of
the export oriented sectors depend.
Yuzhu timber market launches price index
In November last year a timber price index was launched by the Guangdong
Provincial Price Bureau. This index was developed in cooperation with
the South China Normal University.
The new index is intended to aid enterprises as they plan production,
guide policy makers and inform international markets of trends in the
timber sector.
The establishment of the Yuzhu Timber Price Index is seen as an
important means to provide greater transparency in the timber market as
well as a means for national macro-economic management and development
of timber import and industrial policies.
Domestic and international subscribers use the index to follow the Yuzhu
timber price trends. In 2011, shipments to local and overseas markets by
manufacturers in the Guangdong Yuzhu were just over 4 million cubic
metres and were worth more than RMB 16 billion, accounting for about 50%
of the national wholesale timber market.
It has been reported that Yuzhu timber market will continue cooperation
with other timber markets and a database for a national timber wholesale
markets could be developed to improve timber price information.
The Yuzhu timber market also plans for the development of an e-commerce
capacity. The managers of the market are aiming for the Yuzhu Timber
Market to account for up to 70% of China¡¯s timber trade within 3-5
years.
Particleboard investment planned
The Sichuan based Guodong Group intends to invest some RMB700 million in
a particleboard plant with an annual production capacity of 500 000
cubic metres.
Guodong Construction Group Co. Ltd. is the controlling shareholder of
Sichuan Guodong Construction Co., Ltd. According to company¡¯s plan the
plant will be constructed within a period of one year and when fully
operational the annual revenue will be around RMB65 million.
New logging license system introduced
The State Forestry Administration (SFA) has developed a new forest
logging license scheme which will become effective from March 2013. This
will further standardise forest logging management systems and is part
of the forestry reform undertaken by the SFA.
The new license scheme has five essential elements:
the provincial forestry authorities are responsible for immediate
application of the new scheme and must print the new license forms,
inform users of the new scheme and verify the information provided by
forest operators. To effect a smooth change to the new scheme the old
forest logging licenses can be used until June 2013 after which it will
be replaced by the new license.
the new forest logging license will be used nationwide and a uniform
license numbering system will be applied to avoid the risk of forgery or
trade in forest logging licenses.
the licensing authority must maintain records of the old and new licenses
issued.
Forest logging licenses which have been issued should be registered to
ensure standardization and transparency and to facilitate verification.
the issuance and verification procedures for the forest logging license
by the local authorities must follow the SFA rules to ensure uniform
application pattern.
all local forest authorities must ensure training of staff responsible
for implementing the new license procedures.
All forest authorities which have introduced electronic license
application and issuance systems are required to modify these to meet
the requirements of the new license procedures.
¡¡
¡¡
|
